Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service.

Business Plan 273

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Social Media 273

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2019

Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” In fact, NISI recommends starting with the minimum focused set of features and technology that will drive a customer purchase. Nail the business model. It’s time for a new startup model. Nail the solution.

Startup 245

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 245

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Apply for contests and business grants.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service.

Technical Review 310

Technical Review Angel Investor Business Plan Social Media 310

Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

Dino Vendetti a VC at Bay Partners, moved up to Bend, Oregon on a mission to engineer Bend into a regional technology cluster. Today with every city, state and country trying to build out a technology cluster, following Dino’s progress can provide others with a roadmap of what’s worked and what has not.

Early Stage 287

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 287

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 3, 2021

Lazarus has developed a reputation in the Melbourne and Sydney business communities as a consultant who is brutally honest yet caring and highly effective at the same time. He places a strong emphasis on branding and how it positions his clients to start earning revenue shortly after opening their business.

United States 167

United States Entrepreneur Angel Investor Social Media 167

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2014

Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” In fact, NISI recommends starting with the minimum focused set of features and technology that will drive a customer purchase. Nail the business model. It’s time for a new startup model. Nail the solution.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Startup Angel Investor Technical Review 283

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2021

How do you convince investors that your business model will really work, before you have a revenue stream that exceeds your expenses? Even if you are bootstrapping your business, and you are the only investor, you should be asking yourself the same question. Plan for a real revenue model.

Business Model 414

Business Model Angel Investor Bootstrapping Revenue 414

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2017

Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” In fact, NISI recommends starting with the minimum focused set of features and technology that will drive a customer purchase. Nail the business model. It’s time for a new startup model. Nail the solution.

Startup 161

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 161

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Apply for contests and business grants.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Apply for contests and business grants.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” In fact, NISI recommends starting with the minimum focused set of features and technology that will drive a customer purchase. Nail the business model. It’s time for a new startup model. Nail the solution.

Startup 296

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 296

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 29, 2024

Designing Your Business Model Crafting a business model is like building a blueprint for your venture. Revenue streams are another critical component of your business model. Revenue streams are another critical component of your business model.

Intellectual Property 128

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Business Model Bootstrapping 128

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Apply for contests and business grants.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2014

Unfocused entrepreneurs boast that their new technology will generate multiple disruptive products for consumers as well as enterprises around the world. Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition.

Entrepreneur 257

Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor China 257

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Apply for contests and business grants.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” In fact, NISI recommends starting with the minimum focused set of features and technology that will drive a customer purchase. Nail the business model. It’s time for a new startup model. Nail the solution.

Startup 286

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 286

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2012

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded early by one of the 318,000 active Angel investors in the USA alone. Most of these investors are members of Angel groups that have a rigorous filtering and screening process, to select the top 3% and most fundable proposals. Build an investor presentation and summary.

Angel Investor 260

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 260

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

This suggests the firm should have a list of paying customers, consistent sales cycles, a clear value proposition, and a developing revenue pipeline in the ideal situation. Because of this, getting seed venture money, for example, becomes more feasible for many startup companies, particularly those in the technology industry.

Seed Stage 122

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 122

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2013

Unfocused entrepreneurs boast that their new technology will generate multiple disruptive products for consumers as well as enterprises around the world. Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition.

Startup 257

Startup Technical Review Angel Investor China 257

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

In fact, there are a few key sites to help you find angels, including AngelList and Gust , but these don’t tell you very much about how angels work, and how to find the right ones for your startup. Angels prefer strong teams to big ideas. That means you need to lead with your credentials, rather than your disruptive technology.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Accredited Investor Syndicate Syndication 265

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an Angel investor. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service.

Technical Review 299

Technical Review Entrepreneur Business Plan Angel Investor 299

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2017

New entrepreneurs are always looking for a shortcut in getting their venture story and plan across to investors, and closing on the funding they need. An effective tool I see used more and more, as a prelude to a more detailed business plan, is the Business Model Canvas , first introduced by Alexander Osterwalder back in 2008.

Business Model 143

Business Model Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor 143

Gust

APRIL 27, 2014

Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization. Funding process.

Startup 187

Startup Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping 187

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

As an angel investor, what I’m looking for is key data from your business plan, including financial projections, how much money you are looking for and a quantification of my potential return. Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology."

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Technical Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. A conundrum for many frustrated entrepreneurs is that they need money from investors to design and build a prototype product, yet most angel investors expect to see at least a prototype before they invest. Finalize your financial model.

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. A conundrum for many frustrated entrepreneurs is that they need money from investors to design and build a prototype product, yet most angel investors expect to see at least a prototype before they invest. Finalize your financial model.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

Gust

AUGUST 17, 2014

Unfocused entrepreneurs boast that their new technology will generate multiple disruptive products for consumers as well as enterprises around the world. Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition.

Entrepreneur 182

Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor China 182

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

Founders can now access the largest pool of risk capital that ever existed –in the form of Private Equity (Angel Investors, family offices , Venture Capitalists (VC’s) and Hedge Funds.). BTW, Angel investors do not have limited partners, and often invest for reasons other than just for financial gain (e.g., FDA approvals?

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

Up and Running

MARCH 14, 2018

I know what it’s like to pitch to investors—both angels and venture capitalists. I’ve raised close to $1 million from angel investors for my previous technology startups. Sometimes you only get 10 minutes to pitch your business opportunity to the investors (or less in some cases).

Hockey Stick 164

Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2016

There is an old saying in the startup investor community, “Smart investors invest in the team, not the idea.” As an angel investor, I’ve learned to believe in this approach, since I have seen great ideas go astray, due to poor execution and I have seen apparently marginal ideas make millions, managed by a savvy entrepreneur.

Technical Review 134

Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence Angel Investor 134

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

In fact, there are a few key sites to help you find angels, including AngelList and Gust , but these don’t tell you very much about how Angels work, and how to find the right ones for your startup. Angels prefer strong teams to big ideas. That means you need to lead with your credentials, rather than your disruptive technology.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Accredited Investor Venture Capital Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Apply for contests and business grants.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2021

In fact, there are a few key sites to help you find angels, including AngelList and Gust , but these don’t tell you very much about how angels work, and how to find the right ones for your startup. Angels prefer strong teams to big ideas. That means you need to lead with your credentials, rather than your disruptive technology.

Search 317

Search Accredited Investor Angel Investor Venture Capital 317

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2018

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service.

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Angel Investor Business Plan Social Media 157

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2023

According to most definitions, an entrepreneur is one who envisions a new and different business, meaning one that is not a copy of an existing business model. Even fewer are able to grow the startup into a viable business. At this point investors should be interested in buying a chunk of the business.

Matching 270

Matching Entrepreneur Startup Seed Stage 270

Gust

DECEMBER 16, 2012

ABC Shark Tank Angels via Elite Daily. Every new startup I know dreams of being funded early by one of the 318,000 active Angel investors in the USA alone. Build an investor presentation and summary. Finalize your financial model. This is called “validating the business model.”.

Angel Investor 179

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 179